The Norwegian Ministry of Finance has submitted a bill to amend the Financial Institutions Act to expand the Guarantee Scheme for Non-Life Insurance so it covers insurance claims when an insurer that has sold policies into Norway through cross-border activity goes bankrupt. The ministry has also asked the Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway (Finanstilsynet) to assess whether regulatory changes could allow lawsuits over such claims to be brought against the guarantee scheme in Norway and heard by Norwegian courts. The guarantee scheme currently covers claims when a Norwegian insurer becomes insolvent and when an insurer from another European Economic Area (EEA) country has sold insurance through a branch in Norway, but not when insurance is sold directly to Norwegian customers without a physical establishment in Norway. The bill would extend coverage to those cross-border sales, aiming to ensure equal treatment of claimants in Norway regardless of whether the policy was bought from a Norwegian insurer, an EEA branch in Norway, or directly from an EEA insurer on a cross-border basis. The proposal follows a consultation launched in February 2023 and is framed against the insolvency of Denmark’s Alpha Insurance in May 2018, where out-of-scope Norwegian claims led to NOK 90 million being appropriated in the 2024 budget and a further NOK 20 million in the 2025 budget. Finanstilsynet has been asked to deliver a consultation paper by 1 November 2025 on whether, in insolvencies of EEA insurers selling via a Norwegian branch or cross-border into Norway, the guarantee scheme could be required to verify and approve claims before paying out, enabling rules to be set in the Financial Institutions Regulation that direct litigation to the guarantee scheme. For occupational injury insurance claims, the ministry also wants Finanstilsynet to consider whether the Association for Occupational Injury Insurance (Yrkesskadeforsikringsforeningen) should verify and approve claims as a basis for the guarantee scheme’s payout decisions.
Department of Finance (Norway) 2025-08-29
Norwegian Ministry of Finance proposes expanding the non-life insurance guarantee scheme to cover cross-border insurance sold into Norway
The Norwegian Ministry of Finance proposed amending the Financial Institutions Act to expand the Guarantee Scheme for Non-Life Insurance, covering claims from cross-border insurance sales into Norway if an insurer goes bankrupt. The Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway (Finanstilsynet) will assess regulatory changes to allow lawsuits over such claims in Norwegian courts. This follows Denmark’s Alpha Insurance insolvency and aims for equal treatment for claimants in Norway.